Create Context File

Create Context File

Persist a working artifact into the project's context directory, filed by typology and named with a date prefix so it sorts chronologically and never collides.

When to Use

• Save an investigation write-up, plan, guide, or decision produced while working.
• Capture a follow-up, merge-request note, or ticket write-up for later.
• The user asks to "save this finding", "create a plan", or "write this up".

When Not to Use

• Do NOT use for technical notes that belong inline in source — write a code comment.
• Do NOT use for permanent, long-lived docs — use the README or docs site.
• Do NOT use for issue tracking — use the issue tracker.
• Do NOT use for content the team consumes externally — use the docs system.

Principles

1. Typology is the organizing axis. ALWAYS choose the folder by what the artifact is, not by how long it lives.
2. One artifact, one file. ALWAYS keep a single typology per file; NEVER merge a finding with a plan.
3. Deterministic names. The generator MUST own the filename and frontmatter; never hand-craft them.
4. Curated growth. Extend the typology set deliberately, not per task.

Workflow

1. Choose the typology from the curated set. — Stop if: none fits and the need will not recur; reuse the closest match instead of adding a folder.

2. Inspect what already exists for that typology to avoid duplicates:

   ls .context/findings/
   

   Expected result: the existing files, so you can confirm none already covers this artifact.

3. Run the generator with a specific, task-tied title. — Verify: the printed path uses the expected typology plus date.

4. Fill in the body beneath the generated heading. — Stop if: the content spans two typologies; split it into separate files.

Quick Commands

# Create a finding with tags
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type findings --title "Auth token analysis" \
  --tags "auth,oauth"

Expected result: a new dated finding file, printed as the only stdout line.

# Link a finding back to the plan it informed
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type findings --title "Auth token analysis" \
  --related "../plans/2026-03-16-auth-rollout.md"

Expected result: a dated finding file whose frontmatter includes a related: list; when no --related is given, the key is omitted entirely rather than written as related: [].

# Follow-up that can't start until a plan lands
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type follow-ups --title "Wire up token refresh" \
  --blocked-by "../plans/2026-03-16-auth-rollout.md"

Expected result: a dated follow-up file whose frontmatter includes a blocked-by: list, in the same "omitted when empty" style as related. The context-index skill's scripts/context-ready.sh reads this field across every context file to report which active files have zero open blockers — set --blocks on the file being depended on, --blocked-by on the file doing the depending, or both if the relationship is worth recording from either side.

# Multi-line body via heredoc
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type plans --title "Retriever rollout" << 'EOF'
## Phase 1
...
EOF

Expected result: a dated plan file containing the heredoc body.

# Preview without writing
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type merge-requests --title "PROJ-1234" --dry-run

Expected result: the target path plus full file body printed; nothing written.

# A deliberate one-off typology
./scripts/create-context-file.sh --type experiments --title "spike" --allow-new-type

Expected result: a file under a new typology folder, created knowingly.

Full option list: see the CLI reference below.

Anti-Patterns

NEVER create a file without checking the typology folder first

WHY: the same artifact captured twice fragments context and breaks search.

BAD: run the generator immediately for a plan that already exists. GOOD: list the folder, confirm nothing covers it, then create.

Consequence: duplicate, drifting files that later readers cannot reconcile — a common pitfall once a repository grows.

NEVER use a generic slug like notes or todo

WHY: vague slugs collide and read as noise when sorted by date.

BAD: --title "notes" yields a notes.md that clashes across tasks. GOOD: --title "API refactor findings" yields a specific, searchable name.

Consequence: unsearchable filenames plus silent name clashes in production repositories.

NEVER mix typologies in one file

WHY: a finding, a plan, and a follow-up have different lifecycles and readers.

BAD: one file holding analysis, a rollout plan, and open questions. GOOD: three files, one per typology, cross-referenced if needed.

Consequence: no file can be retired cleanly; each keeps stale content alive.

NEVER hand-edit the filename or frontmatter date

WHY: the date prefix plus ISO date power sorting and downstream tooling.

BAD: rename to drop the date, or set date: Jul 21st. GOOD: let the generator produce both; keep the original date on later edits.

Consequence: broken chronological ordering plus frontmatter parse failures.

NEVER emit related: [], blocks: [], or blocked-by: [] when there is nothing to list

WHY: an empty list is noise; the field should be absent when there is nothing to link.

BAD: related: [] (or blocks: [] / blocked-by: []) in the frontmatter. GOOD: omit the key entirely; pass --related/--blocks/--blocked-by only when there is at least one path to list.

Consequence: frontmatter clutter that trains readers (and tooling) to ignore the field, masking the times it actually carries a link.

NEVER set blocked-by on a file whose blocker is unlikely to ever reach status: done

WHY: context-ready.sh fails closed — an unresolvable blocker path, or one that sits at a status other than done indefinitely, keeps the dependent file reported as blocked forever, with no automatic timeout.

BAD: pointing blocked-by at a typology whose typical lifecycle is "keep indefinitely" or "keep while active" rather than a discrete close (see the lifecycle column in Typologies) — e.g. a guide or research file nobody plans to ever mark done. GOOD: point blocked-by at a typology whose lifecycle is a real close event (plan retiring, follow-up closing, ticket tracked to resolution, merge-request retiring after merge) — or record the relationship in prose instead if it isn't really "done-or-not-done" shaped.

Consequence: a file that can never actually be reported ready, with nothing in context-ready.sh's output explaining that the blocker itself is the problem rather than the work.

NEVER invent a new typology for a one-off

WHY: ad-hoc folders erode the curated set that makes context navigable.

BAD: create a bespoke folder for a single throwaway note. GOOD: reuse the closest typology, or pass --allow-new-type knowingly.

Consequence: folder sprawl that defeats predictable retrieval — a slow pitfall.

References

• Typologies — the curated catalog, selection rule, and how to extend the set; load when choosing or adding a typology.
• CLI reference — full generator flags, behavior, and examples; load when you need an option beyond the Quick Commands.
• Frontmatter schema — the JSON Schema for title, type, date, status, tags, related, blocks, and blocked-by; load when validating a context file's frontmatter or wiring a lint check.